Dreary Brearley and the Brooklyn Center Extravaganza

 I have no idea who Andrew Gutmann is, but he has been paying north of 50K/year to have his daughter educated at Brearley, a hyper-exclusive all-girls prep school in New York. But he's had enough. Bari Weiss has the details:

I object to the view that I should be judged by the color of my skin. I cannot tolerate a school that not only judges my daughter by the color of her skin, but encourages and instructs her to prejudge others by theirs. By viewing every element of education, every aspect of history, and every facet of society through the lens of skin color and race, we are desecrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and utterly violating the movement for which such civil rights leaders believed, fought, and died. 

He's just getting warmed up:

I object to Brearley’s vacuous, inappropriate, and fanatical use of words such as “equity,” “diversity” and “inclusiveness.” If Brearley’s administration was truly concerned about so-called “equity,” it would be discussing the cessation of admissions preferences for legacies, siblings, and those families with especially deep pockets. If the administration was genuinely serious about “diversity,” it would not insist on the indoctrination of its students, and their families, to a single mindset, most reminiscent of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Instead, the school would foster an environment of intellectual openness and freedom of thought. And if Brearley really cared about “inclusiveness,” the school would return to the concepts encapsulated in the motto “One Brearley,” instead of teaching the extraordinarily divisive idea that there are only, and always, two groups in this country: victims and oppressors.

In the current environment, mentioning the Chinese Cultural Revolution is likely prima facie evidence of racism. Stop Asian Hate, pal. But let's keep going:

We have today in our country, from both political parties, and at all levels of government, the most unwise and unvirtuous leaders in our nation’s history. Schools like Brearley are supposed to be the training grounds for those leaders. Our nation will not survive a generation of leadership even more poorly educated than we have now, nor will we survive a generation of students taught to hate its own country and despise its history. 

There are obvious consequences to all this and we are seeing it unfold on our doorstep now. Our leaders in Minnesota are as Mr. Gutmann describes -- unwise and unvirtuous. We have the specter of mob rule hanging over Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center. And beyond the lack of virtue, there's also a lack of competence:

Initially, the city planned no curfew for the first time this week to "take a different approach," the mayor said in a statement. But around 10:30 p.m., Operation Safety Net announced the mayor had declared an emergency curfew that starts at 11 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday.

The curfew followed unrest outside the police department. Shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday, protesters breached the secondary barrier surrounding the Brooklyn Center police department. In response, law enforcement used flash bangs and pepper spray to push the crowd back. Officials repaired the fence. Protesters continued to throw items, such as glass bottles, over the barricades.

And the officials are pointing fingers at one another:

 Col. Matt Langer of the Minnesota State Patrol expressed frustration that the same strategy was not as effective Friday night. Authorities say a small group carrying bats were among the agitators.

At an overnight press conference, law enforcement laid out items, including cans, umbrellas, paint cans and wooden shields, that had been brought into the rally by protesters.

"If we want change in policing, we want reform in policing - let's do that. Let's get together and start reform," said Hennepin County David Hutchinson. "This profession needs help. We can admit that. We're not perfect. We can be better. But these people are not people you should be supporting." 

You can't act clearly unless you operate from clear moral principles. Unfortunately, at our current moment, the principle in place is might makes right. We may not have as many Mean Tweets, but there's a meanness in the land. We're at a tipping point.